Haystacker and automatic release



Oct. 16, 1945. .1 E. TWIDWELL 2,337,198

HAYSTACKER AND AUTOMATIC RELEASE I Filed Oct. 27, 1944 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. JAMES EDGARTWIDWELL ATTORN EYs Oct. 16, 1945. J. E. TwmwELL' ,1

v HAYSTACKER AND AUTOMATIC RELEASE Filed Oct. 27. 1944 a Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTQR. JAMES EDGAR TWIDWELL l9 ATTORNEYS Patented Oct. 16, 1945 UNITED STATES 'HAYSTACKER AND AUTOMATIC RELEASE James Edgar Twidvvell, La Grande, Oreg. Application October 2'7, 1944, Serial No. 560,636

4 Claims. (01. 214 1s9) This invention relates to a simple mechanical device for lifting a quantity of hay from the ground in front of the device and depositing it on top of a stack at the rear of the device.

More specifically, this invention relates to haystackers employing the familiar type of sweep rake adapted to swing upwardly in a vertical arc of approximately 90 degrees.

A problem with ordinary haystackers of this type is to have the hay slide off of the raised sweep rake at exactly the right moment when the rake has reached a desired predetermined position so that the hay which is being delivered by the sweep rake will be deposited on top of the stack and not in front of it, as occurs when the hay slides ofi of the rake too soon, or behind the stack, as occurs when the hay does not slide off the rake as soon as expected.

The object of the present invention is to provide an improved, simple and dependable means for causing the hay to slide off the sweep rake the moment the rake reaches a predetermined raised position, thus insuring the dropping of the hay at the desired location on the stack, and to pre-, vent the hay from sliding off of the rake ahead of time. 1

Another object of this invention is to provide means which will function automatically for this purpose with the movement of the rake so that no setting or adjusting of such means will be required when the device is in operation.

A further object of this invention is to provide a haystacker of the type above indicatedwhich will be very simple and inexpensive to build and to maintain.

These objects and further incidental advantages I attain by constructing my haystacker and automatic release as hereinafter briefly described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings: 7

Figure 1 is a side view, in perspective, of my complete device showing the sweep rake in position to start the operation of raising and stacking the hay; I

Figure 2 is a side elevation of the device show ing the sweep rake in the process of being raised but before the sweep rake has reached the top position;

Figure 3 is a fragmentary elevation of the sweep rake and the automatic release, drawn to a slightly larger scale, illustrating the relative position of the associated parts immediately prior to the discharging to the hay from the sweep rake, it being assumed in these figuresthat a:

' 5 quantity of hay (not shown) is being carried by various transverse members It.

the sweep rake;

Figure 4 is a fragmentary elevation similar to Figure 3 showing the sweep rake in dischargingposition; and

Figure'5 is a side elevation of the control latch or look for the back wall of the sweep rake, showing the same in normal locking position with the rake in the starting position of Figure 1.

My stacker includes ,a simple frame support m; which omprises a, pair of bottom l ngi members I0 which may be in the shape of runners or which may be supported at the front and rear on pairs of wheels 12 and I3. The frame also includes upright members II at the rear and Suitable cross braces (not shown) may also be added to give strength and rigidity to the frame.

A pair of inclined tracks I5 extend upwardly and rearwardly from the front ends of the bottom members I!) to the top of the upright members H. At their upper extremities these tracks I5 join a second pair of tracks !6 respectively which extend for a short distance downwardly and to the rear from the top of the frame. Both pairs of tracks are rigidly mounted on the frame. The sweep rake, which is shown clearly in Fig--' ure 1, has the usual prongs or teeth 20 rigidly attached to suitable rake frame members l9 and also has a hinged rear wall 2|. The rake is secured to a pair of telescoping or double arms comprised of forward sections H and rear sections E6. The rear sections l8 are hinged to the rear of the frame, as shown in Figure 1, and each of the forward sections I1 carries a roller or guide wheel 22 adapted to roll on the tracks 15. Since the front arm sections ll are slidable on the rear arm sections 18, the arms are self-adjusting in length, thus enabling the guide wheels 22 always to be in contact with the tracks I5 on which they roll, as apparent from Figure 2.

g A similar pair of rollers or guide wheels 23 are carried by the rear wall 2| of the rake and are adapted to travel on the upper ends of the tracks l5, thus when the rake has reached the position shown in Figure 2, and alsoto travel on the tracks It, as will be explained later. 7 v p A pulley arm extension 2 1, rigidly secured to the rake frame, carries a pulley 25 over which the lifting cable 26 passes. The upper end of the cable 26 is anchored to the hay-stacker frame at 29, and the cable also passes around pulleys 21' and 28 so that when the opposite end is pulled by any suitable means, mechanically or manuallyoperated, the rack will be caused to travel up the inclined tracks !5.

The hinged rear wall of the rack is held in normal position, more or less perpendicular to the main teeth 20 by a locking latch support 30. This locking latch 30 is pivotally mounted on a supporting element 33 (Figure which is secured to the pulley arm 24. The latch 30 has an L- shaped slot 35 which is also formed with a special notch 36 (Figuresi and 5) adapted to engage a latch disk 38 rotatably mounted in a double bracket 3"! attached to the rear wall 2| of the rake. A spring 34 tends to swing the latch 30 counter-clockwise (as viewed-in the drawings), and thus tends to hold the latch with its notch 36 engaging the latch disk 33. Asl'ong as'the latch disk 38 and the latch notch 36ers .so engaged,

the rake carried by the wheels 22 starts moving 7 the hinged rear wall 2| of the rake andthe latch 30 operate to hold each other rigidly in place against counter-clockwise movement, as apparent from Figure 5, and thus the pushing of the hay on the rake against the rear wall will not push the rear wall from its normal position as long as the latch and latch disk are in this relative engaging position. i V j The rear outside edge of the; latch 39 (Figure 5)gis curved, as indicated in Figure 2, in-order to engagewith and lie upon a latch-controlled roller 3| (Figures 1 to 4) when the sweep rake is at the top of the frame. When the latch first contacts the roller 3| during the upward movement of the rake,'the result at first is to lift the latch slightly as shown in Figure 3'. Then, as the rakeprcceeds further to-the top of the frame, the latch, now resting on the roller 38, will be able to drop into the position shown in Figure 4.

The operation of the haystacker-is as follows:

Assuming the hay to be loaded on the sweep rake when the sweep rake is in the starting position shown in Figure l, a pull is exerted on the cable 26 whichcauses the rake to move up along the tracks-l5 on the wheels 22. At the same time the rake is tilted more and more upwardly as it moves ,along the tracks due to the fact that the rake is attached to the double arms l'|l 8 which are pivotally connected to the haystacker frame. During this tilting of the rake, however, the back wall 21 of the rake will be held in its relative position by the latch support 33 as reviously explained. a

,When the rake, moving along the tracks l5, reaches the position illustrated in Figure 2, the guide wheels 23, mounted on the rear wall 2| of the rake, will be brought into contact with the tracks l5. As the rake continues this upward movement from the position of Figure 2 to the position of Figure 3, the guide Wheels 23, which will now be rolling on the tracks l5, also begin to lift the rear wall 2-! 01E the rake slightly so that the hay load, now chiefiycarried by the rearv wallv 21 of the rake, will be supported by the wheels 23 and not by the latch 39. This relieves the strain on the latch and also enables theiilatch to become easily disengaged from the locking disc 38 of the rear wall. While this is takingplace, the latch itself is engaged by the roller 31 which then proceeds to cause the latch to be lifted suihciently to complete its disengagement from looking position, as shown in Figure 3. While the rake continues the upward swing the wheels 23 pass over the tops of the tracks IE to the descending tracks f3. This causes therear wallZl to drop down into the discharging position shown in Figure 4, which results in causing the hay to slide from the rake down over the rear wall and onto the stack at the rear of the haystacker as desired. The curved under edge of the latch 33 permits the latch, after being temporarily raised, to drop down into the position shown in Figure 4 so as not to interfere with the lowering of the rear wall 2| of the rake. The rake, as indicated in Figure 4, has now reached the limit of its upward swing.

When the cable 26 is gradually released for the lowering of the rake, the weight of the rake will cause the wheels 22, to descend along the tracks l5 since these wheels never pass over the top ends of the tracks l5. As the main portion of downwardly, .the wheels 23, supporting the rear wall of therake, will first be caused to travel back upwardly on the tracks I6 until they reach the tops of the tracks l5. At the same time the latch 30, being pulled forwardly over the roller 3| will be lifted until the latch and rear wall are again in the position shown in Figure 3. Further slight downward movement of the rake causes the latch 30 to be freed from the roller 3| and the rear wall 21 to be lowered until the locking disk 38 of the rear wall again becomes engaged with the notch 35 of the latch 30. The spring34 facilitates the return of the latch to locking position as soon as the latch is disengaged from the roller 31 and the spring 34 also prevents any jarring of the rake or frame from causing the latch subsequently to become disengaged from the wall 21 as the rake resumes its normal start-.

ing position. j

Thus, the latch functions automaticallywith the raising and lowering-of the rake to hold the back. wall 2| ,of the rake in normal position atall times, except when the rake is approximately atthe end of the upward swim; and since the rear wall 2! can not be lowered to discharging position until the wheels 23 have passed over the upper extremity of the tracks l5, there is no danger of the hay being discharged prior to,

the predetermined moment in the upswing of the rake; and the dropping of the back wall will insure the immediate and positive dischargingof the hay at the desired location.

Iclaim: l.-In a haystacker of the character described, a frame, a pair of inclined tracks on said frame leading from the bottom to the top, a second pair of tracks leading downwardly and rearwardly from the upper ends of said first mentioned tracks, a sweep rake, a hinged back wall for said rake, a locking latch mounted on said rake to hold said back wall normally in fixed position with respect to said rake, said latch having an L-shaped slot,- a notch i said L-shaped slot,

a cooperating engaging element on said wall extending into said slot and adapted to be engaged by said notch, a pair of selt-adjusting arms attached to :said rake, saidarms hinged to, said fram for 'movement in substantially vertical planes, a guide wheel on each of said arms, said wheels mounted on said first mentioned tracks respectively, engaging wheels mountedon said back wall for engaging'the upper ends 'of said first mentioned tracks when said rake nears the end of its upward travel, means for moving said rake upwardly along said first mentioned tracks, latch disengaging means located'at the top of said frame adapted to lift said lockinglatch when the bottom edge of said latch rides over said dis'eng-agingmeans, whereby when said. rake is near; the upperzends of said tracks'said" engaging wheels on saidback wallwill be brought.

into engagement with said first mentioned tracks and lift said back wall while said latch disengaging means lifts said latch, and causes said cooperating element to be disengaged from said notch, and whereupon further upward movement of said rake will cause said back wall to drop to discharging position when said back wall wheels pass on to said second pair of tracks.

2. A haystacker of the character described comprising a frame, a pair of inclined tracks on said frame leading from the front to the rear, a sweep rake, a hinged back wall for said rake, a latch member hinged to said rake engaging said back wall to hold said back 'wall normally in fixed position with respect to said rake, an L-shaped slot in said latch member, a notch in said slot, a cooperating engaging element on said back wall extending into said slot and adapted to be engaged by said notch, a pair of self-adjusting arms attached to said rake, said arms hinged to said frame for movement in substantially vertical planes, a guide wheel on each of said arms, said wheels mounted on said tracks respectively, track-engaging elements mounted on said back wall for engaging the upper ends of said tracks and raising said back wall when said rake nears the end of its upward travel, means for moving said rake upwardly along said tracks, latch lifting means located at the top of said frame adapted to lift said latch member when the bottom edge of said latch member rides over said latch lifting means and said rake nears the end of its upward travel, whereby when said rake is near the upper ends of said tracks said back wall and said latch members will both be lifted sufficiently to enable said notch in said latch member to be disengaged from said cooperating engaging element on said back wall, and whereupon further upward movement of said rake will cause said back wall to drop to discharging position when the track engaging elements on said back wall pass over the top ends of said tracks.

3. A haystacker of the character described comprising a frame, a pair of inclined tracks on said frame leading from the front to the rear, a second pair of tracks leading downwardly and rearwardly from the upper ends of said first mentioned tracks, a sweep rake, a hinged back wall for said rake, a latch membe pivotally mounted on said rake engaging said back wall to hold said backwall normally in fixed position with respect to said rake, a notch in said latch member, a cooperating engaging disk on said back wall adapted to engage said notch, a pair of telescoping arms attached to said rake, said arms hinged to the rear of said frame for movement in substantially vertical planes, a guide wheel on each of said arms, said wheels mounted on said first mentioned tracks respectively, a pair of uide wheels mounted on said back wall for engaging the upper ends ofsaid first mentioned tracks when said rake nears the end of its upward travel, cable means for moving said rake upwardly along said first mentioned tracks, a roller located at the top of said frame adapted to lift said latch member when said rake nears the end of its upward travel, said latch member having a curved edge riding over said roller controlling the movement of said latch member as said latch member rides over said roller, whereby when said rake is near the upper ends of said first mentioned tracks said guide wheels on said back wall will be brought into engagement with said first mentioned tracks and lift said back wall sufficiently to enable said notch on said latch member to be disengaged from said disk on said back wall when said latch member contacts said disengaging means, and whereupon further upward movement of said rake will cause said back wall to drop to discharging position when the guide wheels on said back wall pass over the top ends of said first mentioned tracks and descend along said second mentioned tracks.

4. A haystacker of the character described comprising a frame, a pair of inclined tracks on said frame leading from the bottom to the top, a second pair of tracks leading downwardly and rearwardly from the upper ends of said first mentioned tracks, a sweep rake, a hinged back wall for said rake, a locking latch hinged to said rake engaging said back wall to hold said back wall normally in fixed position with respect to said rake, cooperating engaging elements on said latch and back wall, a pair of telescoping arms attached to said rake, said arms hinged to the rear of said frame for movement in substantially vertical planes, a guide wheel on each of said arms, said wheels mounted on said first mentioned tracks respectively, a pair of similar guide wheels mounted on said back wall for engaging the upper ends of said first mentioned tracks when said rake nears the end of its upward travel, cable means for moving said rake upwardly along said first mentioned tracks to the top of said frame, a roller located at the top of said frame adapted to lift said locking latch when said rake nears the end of its upward travel, said locking latch having a curved edge riding over said roller controlling the movement of said locking latch as said locking latch rides over said roller, whereby when said rake is near the upper ends of said first mentioned tracks said guide wheels on said back wall will be brought into engagement with said first mentioned tracks and lift said back wall sufiiciently to enable said locking latch to be disengaged from said back wall when said locking latch contacts said roller, and whereupon further upward movement of said rake will cause said back wall to drop to discharging position when the guide wheels on said back wall pass Over the top ends of said first mentioned tracks and descend along said second mentioned tracks, said second mentioned tracks controlling the lowering of said back wall.

JAMES EDGAR TWIDWELL. 

